I stood with Master Chief
by friar jerome
Summary: Discontinued


Disclaimer: I own none of the concepts, places, or most of the characters in this story.Ha, now ya can't sue me!!!!

Auther note. this is AU. i'm not pretending its not.

Good evening, or morning, depending on when you're reading this. My name is Staff-Sergeant James Wainwright, of the Orbital Drop Shock Troupers. I fought on the Alpha Halo, and this is my story.

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I sat on my bunk, helmet beside me, in full ODST armour. I held my palm-top and scrolled through the programs. I selected "Letters" from the list.

I started dictating to the smart-program.

"Dear Mum and Dad,

I'm well, and so is Ed. We've been stationed aboard the "Pillar of Autumn". I can't say much more, or ONI will censor it. I've just been promoted to Sergeant, and that means extra pay, and a decent bonus. I've sent the bonus directly to you. Have a couple of drinks on me.

I Love you,

James."

I was about to add more in when I felt the distinctive shudder of the ship exiting slipspace. I tucked the palm-top into a chest pocket of my armour, and stood up, narrowly missing the bunk above.

A klaxon suddenly sounded as a voice blared across the com.

"Attention: All combat personnel, please report to your combat stations. Seal pressure locks on Deck 11." I recognised it as an AI.

_Hmm must be the new ship's AI_, I thought.

A pair of legs almost knocked me out as they swung down from the upper bunk.

"Hey, careful. I can't have your back if I'm unconscious." I complained.

A huge, cheeky grin split across his face, as he ran his fingers through his close-cropped hair. He punched my shoulder, saying,

"Come on, you of all people should know that I don't need my back watched." A couple of weeks ago he'd managed to take down two elites on his own. He was now stupidly cocky as he'd attributed the kills to his own "Awesomisity", as he called it. I personally thought it had something to do with the rocket launcher he was using.

"Yeah, well who's the Sergeant?" I retorted.

"You, but only cos I made you look good." I rolled my eyes. I pulled out a small gold shamrock from around my neck and whipped the chain over my head. I passed it up to Ed.

"Here, you take the Shamrock. I'll take the cross." I said. We had two lucky charms, and we swapped them every now and again, just in case one of them did actually work.

"Thanks." He passed over the small silver cross. I put it on and jammed my helmet on.

"Let's go."

We entered the Barracks just as Sergeant Johnson was giving his usually pep talk to the Marines.

"Men, we led those dumb bugs out to the middle of nowhere to keep 'em from gettin' their filthy claws on Earth. But, we stumbled onto somethin' they're so hot for, that they're scramblin' over each other to get it. Well, I don't care if it's God's own personal anti-son-of-a-bitch machine, or a giant hula hoop, we're not gonna let 'em have it! What we will let 'em have is a belly full of lead, and a pool of their own blood to drown in!" Sergeant Johnson paused "Am I right, Marines?"

The Marines replied, "Sir! Yes sir!"

"Uh-huh. Damn right I am. Now move it out! Double time!" He motioned for me to come over.

I did. I almost saluted, but stopped myself. He's not your superior now. You're equals, I muttered to myself

"Yes Sergeant?" I said.

"Good luck." He patted my shoulder as he passed.

I turned to look at the ODSTs under my command.

"I can't really add to what he just said," I said, motioning to Sergeant Johnson. "But I can say this. We're Hell-Jumpers! So Lets Give Those Split-Lipped Bastards What We Do Best! Give 'Em Hell!" I Paused. "What are we gonna give 'em?"

"HELL!" The yell was deafening.

"That's what I though. Now Move!"

The ODSTs flooded past me, clutching assault rifles. I then jogged over to the weapons rack. I grabbed a M6D pistol, an Assault rifle of my own, and several clips for each.

"Attention: We are reengaging the enemy." It was the AI over the inter-com again.

I fired a burst from my rifle, taking down another couple of Grunts. I ducked back behind the defences. I pulled a grenade from its clip on my hip and set the timer.

"Fire in the hole!" I yelled as I tossed the grenade. A white flash erupted behind the wall. The trooper beside me popped up, firing in bursts.

_Note to self, make sure that trouper gets a recommendation._

A small blue ball flew over our heads and landed on a small case of ammo.

"Crap." I muttered. I grabbed it and tossed it over the wall. It exploded before I could get back down.

The blue finally cleared from my eyes. I picked myself up.

"What happened? You," I said, pointing at a random solider. "What happened?"

"T-the grenade knocked you back, sir. B-but it killed all the covenant bastards hiding back there." He stuttered to me.

"Combat teams on decks five through nine, fall back to secondary defensive positions." It was Captain Keyes over the inter-com.

"You Heard The Captain, Fall Back!" I yelled, as we retreated.

"Ops personnel on decks nine through twelve, report to evac stations now." It was Keyes over the Inter-com again. A group of grunts ran at us, firing wildly with plasma rifles. Ed mowed them down from behind me. I gave him a thumbs-up.

"All hands. This is the Captain. Prepare to abandon ship. Combat teams, repel boarders until Ops personnel are away. Good luck. Keyes out." The inter-com buzzed, and went silent.

"Alright people. We're leavin' now, and I don't think we're coming back. So say your goodbyes to the ship, and when you're done, meet me at the HEV launch-bay." I said quietly.

We quickly retreated to the HEV launch-bay.

"Johnson," I said to the solider beside me, "Lay trip-wire laced grenades along the exits. I don't want anything coming through here after us."

He nodded and started unpacking trip-wires and detonators.

"All signs call in." I called over my private squad com. I got 14 out of 15 call signs. I did a quick headcount. All 14 were here.

"Ok people, time to move out. The co-ordinates should be loaded into the HEVs already, so you should be able to jump straight off." I looked at Johnson.

"Is the welcoming service ready?" I said, referring to the grenades.

"As ready as they'll ever be, Sarge."

"Alright people. Time to jump. I'll meet you on the surface." Each solider slipped into their HEV. There were two left over. One for me. One for Corporal Black, call sign Fish-Sticks, deceased. I took a grenade from the weapons rack in the launch-bay and set the timer. I placed it in the HEV with several others and launched it. I couldn't give the Corporal a proper send-off, but perhaps this would do.

I slipped into my own HEV, sealed it and hit the launch switch. The pod kicked its way out from the Autumn. The immense force I was experiencing would've pushed me to the floor, if it weren't for the semi-reclined harness I was in.

I felt the HEV heat up slightly as I hit the atmosphere, the view-port at my face height lighting up. I felt an urge to shudder uncontrollably, but the cramped space inside the pod prevented this. I couldn't have raised my arm to my face, even if the G-forces would've let me.

Something hit the side of the HEV, sending it off course. The sudden G-forces from the spin made me feel light headed.

The light-headedness quickly passed.

I blacked out.

Please review. please.


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